City of Aurora 1869, 1864
Aurora Township’s story
191 years in pictures
Census counts: 1,200 in 1850, 180,542 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1864 and 6 maps from 1932 on.
- 1835Aurora Township is settled
Aurora TownshipIL
5 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Sea Cow · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
127,446
2025 Census estimate · +0.4% since 2020
Median home value
$234K
Census ACS
Household income
$76K
median
Median age
34.3
years
Jobs based here
44,600
Balanced
TownGrade
C+
#541 of 767 in IL
What is it like to live in Aurora Township?
For a city of 127,446, Aurora Township does unevenly: it grades C+, 541st among Illinois's 767 graded towns. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 84% of U.S. towns. Its lowest mark is a C in schools. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns. Aurora Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 96% of U.S. towns. Only 91 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score higher on history. 21% of working residents work locally in Aurora Township, above both the Illinois town median (8.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%).
What makes Aurora Township stand out
Where Aurora Township beats most towns.
A shrinking town
Aurora Township has shrunk 13% since 2010
146,149 counted in 2010 and 126,929 in 2020; an estimated 127,446 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Aurora Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Aurora Township is from typical.
WalkabilityEPA walkability 11.7 of 20; 6.8% of households have no carA−Open →SchoolsCOpen →Cost of livingTypical home $234K, 2.6 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household incomeC+Open →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 37% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listBOpen →HealthPresence Mercy Medical Center 1.3 miles awayBOpen →Jobs & income$76K median household incomeB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors7% conserved landA−Open →HistoryAOpen →Civic life1.8 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsD−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 167 attractions →Soldier Field and 153 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Aurora Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw37 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw38 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw37 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a yearSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Art Institute of Chicago: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0
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Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Aurora Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Aurora Township, and how to reach them.
PowerCommonwealth Edison17.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterAurora water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Aurora Township’s trash rules yet
SchoolsAurora West Unit School District 129Aurora East Unit School District 1312 districts serve Aurora Township; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Illinois you can register online until 16 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereKane County ClerkKane County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP codes60505, 60506, 60542, 6050460505 46% · 60506 37% · 60542 6% · 60504 6%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Aurora Township.
Aurora Township trades workers with Aurora and other neighbors, but it scores below Sugar Grove Township and its other neighbors on health and trails Naperville Township and its other neighbors on schools.
OutdoorsA−
Aurora Township has set aside 7.2% of its land for conservation
27 miles of trail in 93 parks and preserves. The trail density in Aurora Township is 0.8 miles per square mile. Oakhurst Forest Preserve, at 411 acres with 7.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
#170for trails in IL
| Aurora Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.2% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
7.2%
conserved · 1,614 of 22,469 acres
27 mi
of trails · 0.8 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Oakhurst Forest Preserve | 7.1 mi | 411 |
| 2. Phillips Park | 2.5 mi | 236 |
| 3. Indian Creek Park | 0.8 mi | 44 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
SchoolsC
Public schools in Aurora Township fall behind 68% of Illinois districts
Each of its 5 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C, Naperville Township highest at A.
Its public schools are run by Aurora East USD 131. Two of its 47 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
32%of IL districts it outscoresCSchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry W Cowherd Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 807 | D |
| East High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 4,020 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Climate
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Aurora Township
Aurora Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 15° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
28″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter18–34°
Spring38–60°
Summer61–82°
Fall42–62°
Oct 23
typical first frost
Apr 19
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
About one in five working residents works right in Aurora Township
Aurora Township has about as many jobs (44,600) as working residents, but only 10,600 people both live and work here.
About one in 5 of Aurora Township’s working residents works in town. 12% of Aurora Township residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Aurora Township fell to 44,600 in 2023, 2,932 fewer than in 2013.
21%work in town
| Aurora Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 8.9% | 11% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Aurora Township21%
Aurora21%
Chicago10%
Naperville7%
Batavia4%
11 mi
median commute distance
44,600
jobs based in Aurora Township
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
A−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Aurora Township
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 246 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Aurora Township.
37risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
246
paid flood claims since 1978
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HealthB
Aurora Township ranks healthier than 55% of the country’s towns
All 5 graded neighbors score healthier than its B, from Sugar Grove Township (A−) to Naperville Township (A+).
Aurora Township beats the Illinois average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 16% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Aurora Township.
55%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
| Aurora Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 7.9% | 8.1% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 78% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 35% |
32 measures vs. Illinois
6 better16 too close to call10 worse
| What stands out | Aurora Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.9% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 21% | 24.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 16.3% | 9.9% |
Presence Mercy Medical Center
1.3 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
41st
percentile among IL towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Aurora Township
18pages on Aurora Township
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
8 within 15 miles of the center of Aurora Township
Aurora UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Aurora1.9 mi$29,170 tuitionWaubonsee Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Sugar Grove7.5 mi$3,504 in-state tuitionNorth Central CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Naperville9.1 mi$45,726 tuition
About 6 of every 100 Aurora Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
About Aurora Township
City in Illinois, United States
Aurora is a city in northeastern Illinois, United States, located along the Fox River. The population was 180,542 at the 2020 census. It is the second-most populous city in Illinois, after Chicago, and the 144th-most populous city in the US. Aurora is the most populous city in Illinois that is not a county seat. Founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded into DuPage, Kendall, and Will counties. Once a mid-sized manufacturing city, Aurora has grown since the 1960s into a large city within the Chicago metropolitan area. In 1908, Aurora adopted the nickname "City of Lights", because in 1881 it was one of the first cities in the United States to implement an all-electric str…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1835
- Area
- 46 sq mi
- Elevation
- 722 ft
- ZIP code
- 60502, 60503, 60504
Aurora Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Aurora Township.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C+; North Aurora (B) is closest. Naperville Township next door grades higher for schools (A to Aurora Township’s C) and lower for cost of living (D to C+).
Batavia TownshipSugar Grove TownshipOswego TownshipNaperville TownshipNorth AuroraAurora Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora Township | #541 | C+ | C+ | — | C | B |
| Batavia Township | #213 | A− | C− | — | B | A |
| Sugar Grove Township | #380 | B | D | — | B+ | A− |
| Oswego Township | #339 | B+ | C− | — | B+ | A− |
| Naperville Township | #115 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| North Aurora | #406 | B | C− | — | C+ | A |
Aurora Township, Batavia Township, Sugar Grove Township, Oswego Township, Naperville Township and North Aurora report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Aurora Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Aurora Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Aurora Township, IL a good place to live?
Aurora Township grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #541 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B for health and C for schools.
Is Aurora Township, IL expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.